Plant Gene and Trait 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 142-151 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/pgt 146 6.2 Effect on fruit size, shape, sugar content, and shelf life Rootstocks also have an impact on the size and quality of fruits. Most studies suggest that using appropriate rootstocks can increase fruit weight, fruit diameter and fruit length (Gomes et al., 2022). However, there are also some rootstock combinations that can reduce the dry matter, sugar, vitamin C and soluble solids of the fruit. Especially overly vigorous rootstocks may produce a “dilution effect” (Mauro et al., 2020; Gong et al., 2022a). However, in most cases, the rootstock has little effect on the color, pH, lycopene, beta-carotene and other nutrients of tomatoes, nor does it deteriorate the taste or nutritional quality (Jenkins et al., 2022). There are also some rootstocks that can make the fruit more resistant to diseases and less likely to spoil after being stored for a long time (Kabas and Kucukaydin, 2023). 6.3 Trade-offs between vigor reduction and yield optimization Dwarfing rootstocks can regulate plant hormones, nutrient transport and photosynthesis, reduce vegetative growth, and allow plants to focus more on fruit growth, thereby achieving high yield even when planted closely. However, if the vitality of the rootstock is too weak, it will instead lead to a decrease in yield, smaller fruits, and a possible decline in quality (Mauro et al., 2020). Therefore, a balance must be struck between “controlling growth” and “ensuring output”. It is best to choose the rootstock that can suppress excessive growth without affecting yield and fruit quality (Jenkins et al., 2022). In addition, the combination of rootstocks and scions, planting season, climatic conditions, etc. will also affect the final performance (Figure 2) (Gong et al., 2022a). Figure 2 Tomato fruit firmness as affected by scion ×planting season interaction (Adopted from Gong et al., 2022a) Image caption: (A) ‘BHN 1022’ grape tomato scion. (B) Fruit firmness of ‘BHN 1022’. (C) ‘Skyway’ beefsteak tomato scion. (D) Fruit firmness of ‘Skyway’. Error bars represent standard errors. Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p ≤ 0.05 according to Fisher’s LSD test (Adopted from Gong et al., 2022a) 7 Integration with Modern Cultivation Practices 7.1 Suitability for protected and high-density systems Dwarfing rootstocks can control the growth of scions and the shape of plants, making tomatoes grow more compact. This structure is suitable for close planting and helps to increase the yield per unit area (Zheng et al.,
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